PROMINENT SNOWBOARDER LINKED TO HUGE POT BUST

Sept. 22 Raid On Farm In Maple Ridge Nets 6,800 Marijuana Plants

A prominent B.C. snowboarder has been linked to a massive marijuana
seizure in Maple Ridge, where guns were also found.

Former World Cup snowboarder Ian Hadgkiss owns a farm where police
found an estimated $10 million worth of pot.

The Sept. 22 raid netted about 6,800 marijuana plants in various
growth stages in a warehouse, plus about 40 kilograms of dried pot,
said Ridge Meadows RCMP spokesman Dan Herbranson.

"It was quite the seizure," Herbranson said.

"The matter's still under investigation. We're still tying up a number
of loose ends.

"Whether there will ever be charges or not it's hard to say."

One male was found on the property, but there was insufficient
evidence to link him to the drugs, Herbranson said.

Guns were also found during the raid, he said.

The property, named Eighteen Carrot Farms by a previous owner, has an
assessed value of $774,000, B.C. government records show.

Hadgkiss paid $900,000 for the property in the 13200-block of Cedar
Way in 2004.

Hadgkiss lists his occupation as contractor on land-title documents.

From 1995 to 2001, Hadgkiss was ranked in the world's top 100
giant-slalom snowboarders all but one year, with his highest ranking
at 39th in 1996 and lowest at 124th in 1998.

Drawing a link between the world of competitive snowboarding and the
consumption of marijuana is not appropriate, said Tom McIllfaterick,
CEO of the Canadian Snowboard Federation, which licenses Canada's
competitive snowboarders.

"There are a lot of snowboarders in this country, and what happens in
a gondola in Whistler between a couple of recreational snowboarders is
not part of our organization and is not part of the sport that we're
involved with," McIllfaterick said.

"Our athletes are subject to the same doping-control program that all
other Olympic-sport athletes are in Canada."

In the history of Canadian snowboarding, the only drug infraction by a
competitor was when B.C.'s Ross Rebagliati tested positive for
marijuana at the Olympics in Nagano, Japan, in 1998. His gold medal
was confirmed after an appeal.

Neither Hadgkiss, nor a former Olympic snowboarder reportedly named on
the search warrant for the Maple Ridge property, have been associated
with the federation since 2002, McIllfaterick said.

"I have no idea what they've been doing," he said.